Repeaters typically convey communications between a plurality of communication units via at least one communication resource assigned to that particular repeater. Due to the effects of rayleigh fading, the signal strength of a transmitted communication may be so poor as to render the communication undetectable. In order to reduce the effects of rayleigh fading, a diversity repeater, which comprises at least two receivers such as FM receivers, may be used. The two receivers of the diversity repeater each receive the same transmission, which may be subsonic, audio, ultrasonic, or data signals, however, by having the antennas of the receivers adequately separated, the signal strength of the transmissions received by each receiver is generally different. Typically, the repeater compares the signal strength of the received transmissions and conveys, via a communication resource, the received transmission with the higher signal strength.
When one of the received transmissions has poor signal strength, the repeater typically cannot determine whether that receiver is inoperative, has failed, or is receiving a rayleigh faded signal. If a receiver fails, the diversity feature of the repeater may be lost, therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus that determines when a receiver is receiving a faded transmission or the receiver has become inoperative.